Special teams costly as Trenton suffers first defeat

MT. HOLLY — What could have been a special day in the history of Trenton High football didn’t happen.

Instead the Tornadoes have only themselves to blame for not being undefeated any longer, and for coming up short in their first championship game in 20 years.

In a game they, their coaches, and the 1,000-plus Trenton fans who made the trip to Bill Gordon Memorial Field may never forget, the 6-1 Tornadoes fell to Rancocas Valley, 21-19, with the West Jersey Football League Colonial Division title at stake.

Trenton’s special teams made it a gut-wrenching day as they gave up an 86-yard kickoff return for RV’s first points, a 41-yard return that led to the second touchdown, and finally a botched punt that hit a Tornadoes blocker and landed in the end zone where it was recovered for the Red Devils’ winning points.

“It’s one third of the game, and we’ve got to be better on special teams. That’s my fault,” said Trenton’s first-year coach Tarig Holman. “Our defense played lights out, and we moved the ball on offense. But you have to play all three parts of the game right.”

Trenton outrushed RV 368-76, with Ryan Wharton topping 1,000 yards with 182 on 25 carries and Trumaine Nieves gaining 149 on 14 rushes. Each scored a touchdown, as did QB Brandon Scott who picked up his own fumble and ran nine yards for a TD with 5:03 left to pull the Tornadoes within two.

Trenton had the crowd of over 2,500 on the edge of its seats when it drove from its 14 to the RV 17 on its final possession, only to give the ball up when it was stopped on third down at the 20 then Scott got confused and spiked the ball on fourth down allowing 4-2 RV to take over and run out the clock.

“I wanted him to spike it on third down because we had no timeouts left. That’s my fault,” said Holman. “That wasn’t the game there. We have to finish better.”

The Tornadoes sure started great, driving 71 yards in 14 plays with Wharton going the last five for a 7-0 lead 10 minutes into the game.

Wharton was 8-for-71 on the drive, but RV tied it on one play when Rodney Larmore ran the ensuing kickoff up the middle of the field 86 yards for a 7-7 tie.

On its second bad punt snap in 10 minutes Trenton got off a boot Zaikky Williams returned 41 yards to the 38, setting up a 2-yard touchdown run by QB Jordan Sadusky for a 14-7 lead 3:31 before halftime. That was still enough time for Trenton to get within 14-13 as Wharton ran three times for 36 yards and Nieves went the final 40 with a powerful run off the right a minute later.

A 35-yard Williams return early in the second half led to the Devils eventually trying a 43-yard field goal that hit the crossbar to keep it a one-point thriller and set the stage for a fourth quarter that was pure hell for Trenton.

Two plays in punter Juan Rivera’s kick from the end zone hit the helmet of a teammate who moved back trying to block. The ball landed in the end zone where Williams fell on it for a 21-13 RV lead.

Undaunted Trenton, which hadn’t been in a championship game since ‘93 when it lost 11-8 at home to Woodbridge for the Central Jersey IV title, went on another long drive, covering 76 yards on nine plays against RV’s 8-man front.

Nieves got 50 of them, Wharton 16 and Scott 12, including three on a third-down run to keep it going, then the final nine when he picked up his own fumble to get to the end zone.

The biggest heartbreak was still to come.

THS got the ball with 5:36 left at its 14, and with Nieves getting 28 on two rushes, Wharton 14 on five runs and J’Von Clark 11, it got inside the 20 before RV’s defensive rush, led by Tyler Schneider, shut the door.

With the spike it took over and ran out the clock— and ruined Trenton’s hopes of bringing home a division title.